Monday, October 24, 2011

Becky II's exhaust is now blowing near the manifold/downpipe joint. I jacked up the front of the car and supported her on axle stands. Once I removed the nuts and separated the exhaust from the manifold I found out what the problem was. The flange had broken off. The worst case scenario is a replacement exhaust but lack of money means that isn't an option. It could be welded but my welding skills (or lack of them) rules that out. As a temporary fix I've put some exhaust putty in to seal the gap but it only seems to have been partially successful.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Becky II's handbrake has been virtually non-existent so I took a look at it. This means removing the rear brake rum and the rear barke shoes. I wasn't the least bit surprised to find that the part of the handbrake linkage that's inside the drum was siezed. I'd freed it off back in February for the last MoT and the car's been in regualr use so it is just something I'm going to have to check regularly. Once it was freed off and given plenty of PlusGas I cleaned everything up and put it all back together. It was also an opportunity to regrease the wheel bearings. I'm glad to report that the handbrake is now working better than before and it holds when parked on the drive.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

I have finally managed to resolve Brown's exhaust issues. I searched high and low for an exhaust clamp and ended up ordering one from T.D. Fitchett. I also ordered the nut, and washers. I already had the original style clamp so that has saved me a few quid. The part came in the post today so I got it fitted. It needed some fettling because Brown is a mixture of early and late Dolomite 1850 but I got there in the end and it has made such a huge difference to the driving experience. No more knocking! I refitted my previous set of carbs after I'd given them a good clean and I'm still having minor issues. I'll experiment with the ignition timing and see if that makes any difference. I'd like to fit solid carb mounts to eliminate any problems there but that will have to wait until my finances have improved. As it is, I can start to enjoy this car.

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

In my last post I mentioned that the exhaust was knocking on the autobox crossmember. Also, I noticed that the engine seemed to be rocking more than it should. I've started to eliminate possible causes. First, I finally fitted electronic ignition. A secondhand Newtronic unit was bought from S&S Preparations and once that was fitted I managed to get it working and it has made a huge difference to how the car drives. I wished I'd done it sooner. I also noticed that one of the engine mounts had seen better days so a replacement was ordered and was fitted. This has also made a difference but the knocking is still there so the next thing wil be to fit the original type exhaust clamp and autobox bracket. I found what looks to be the correct type clamp among my collection of parts so I'm still on the hunt for the bracket. There's also the problem of the tickover which seems to be too high. I might have to fit my other carbs.